I've Got You
by AssassinAddicted
Summary: Altair has always been fearful of water. Always. Losing balance and falling is one thing, but losing balance and falling into water is another thing. It's terrifying when you can't swim. ...where's Altair's savior when he needs one? Part 1 of 2


He was falling.

He made no audible sound as he did. Partly because fear had gripped his voice box to the point where he couldn't make a noise and the other half was that he would only get a harsh mouthful of saltwater in response to his cry.  
The water was rushing closer to him. Fifty feet. Forty feet. Thirty feet. Twenty.  
He had tried to twist his body to grip the edge if the cliff face beside him, but the rough-edged rocks just sliced through the thin skin on his fingers and palms, forcing to let himself just plummet down below.

It was crazy, really. The great Altair, master of assassination, was going to die. Not because of the fall he was taking, but because of his lack of being able to swim.  
He was most ashamed of himself.

A small grunt came from his clenched teeth as he made contact with the ocean and right on impact, he began to sink. He bucked his legs upward, trying to stop his sinking but they just flailed, not doing anything to help him.  
Ever since he was a child, he had always been fearful of water. The other Assassins never understood, but to Altair the wet, cold depths that contained no air just terrified him. Thus, he never learned to swim.

He tried to push up with his arms, but he had already sunk too deep and the muscles just tightened, locking in place.  
Oxygen bubbled up and left his lips as his eyes became slits, watching the surface of the water drift further and further and further away. Him just sinking faster and faster.  
He allowed his head to tilt back and just felt the downward tug of his robes as the water kept dragging him down.  
'_This is it? How I die?'_ His thoughts were soft, faint. '_By water? How pitiful of me...'_

He was so ashamed of himself. So, so ashamed. He thought how Malik would react to this. He would probably think the same thing too.  
Malik...  
Oh, Malik.  
His lifelong best friend. His brother. His partner.  
The one person he deeply cared about.  
He was just going to leave him. Die because of a stupid slip-up that could of been avoided.  
How selfish of him just to abandon Malik.  
How stupid.

Black fuzziness began to swarm along the edges of his vision, darkening the already dark water. His limbs grew incredibly weak and the heartbeat that had been slamming in his chest had dulled into a slow, dying rhythm.  
He closed his eyes, letting Death selfishly take his life away from him. Away from Malik. Poor thing was going to be alone once again. Altair's heart gave a loud cry at just imagining Malik's pain.  
Slowly, the fire that was raging in his lungs began to ebb away. His heartbeat gave a few more soft pounds before coming to a rest inside of his chest as he fell into an eternal sleep that he knew would not be peaceful.  
His last words, which he mouthed into the water, were;  
"I love you, Malik..."

There was a splash.

Malik dove beneath the frigid surface of the water, ignoring when his body screamed at him to get out.  
He had saw it. Saw _him._  
Watched as Altair tipped off-balance and fell of the rocky cliff face.  
He heard no scream. No shout. Just a splash as Altair hit the water below.  
Him and Altair had been friends since childhood. He knew the white clad Assassin had a deep fear of water and could not swim. So, acting on instinct, he had leapt off the cliff to go and rescue his friend.

The water had been darker than he expected, no light was visible. Only black, cold water.  
For a second, he panicked. There was no way he could find Altair in this water! It was too dark! He wouldn't be able to see him!  
But a flash of white caught his attention and he felt his heart race into a hammering gallop. Spinning around, he pushed himself down and lashed out his hand, gripping the white with a death grip and hauling upwards.  
He didn't have to look to know who it was. He knew it was Altair. Just from the Assassin robes. But the body was heavy. The clothing Altair had on was dragging them both down and Malik only had one arm which was hard so he just ignored the heaviness. Shedding off Altair's robes would just result in taking more time and having less time for his life to be saved. Malik couldn't risk that chance. Couldn't waste that time.

He pushed upwards instead, kicking with all the muscles in his legs, tugging Altair higher to the surface.  
His own air began to run low, his vision foggy. But his head busted through the surface and he brought up Altair's body next to his, an arrow of fear stabbing into his gut when Altair did not take a breath.

"No..." He whispered, pulling Altair to the small bite of land ahead of them.  
He laid the assassin on the dark sand, quickly tugging off the soaked robes and armor that covered the man's body until he was wearing only his tunic and pants.  
Malik listened. There was no breathing. He pressed his hands to his chest. No heartbeat.  
"Altair!" His voice was a sheer cry of desperate agony.  
'_Get his heart started. Get him to breathe.' _That was Malik's motive._  
_

His shaking hands pushed down on Altair's chest. Then up. Then down. Down, up. Down, up.  
His mind was a jumbled mess of panic and adrenaline, he lost count. But when he felt was right, he leaned forward and sealed his lips over his friend's, forcing the air he breathed out to fill Altair's lungs.  
_Oh God...his lips...they were so cold..._

He did this three times, body trembling, giving Altair everything he needed from his "Kiss of Life."  
He almost gave up hope of Altair's life being spared, but fingers twitched and Altair made a gurgling noise before he rolled onto his side and vomited out seawater.

Malik's heart took a leap to his throat and he sat Altair up, clutching his friends shivering body close to his.  
"M-Mal...l-l-lik..." Altair's voice was hoarse and quiet. Barely above a whisper.  
"It's alright, my brother. I got you." Malik's hand reached up and cupped the back of Altair's head, rubbing his thumb along the higher part of his neck.  
He didn't get a response from Altair after that, he just felt the man's chest heave before smoothing out into an easy "up, down, up down" motion. He had blacked out due to exhaustion on Malik's shoulder, and Malik was perfectly okay with that. Just as long as he wasn't dead.

He heard a shout, and Malik's head shot up in alarm, eyes darting to the source. There, on the top of the cliff, was one of the Assassin Informers. He was waving towards the two friends and Malik heard him call down to him;  
"I have gotten help! We are on our way!" Before he turned and ran out of sight.

Malik released a shaky sigh, holding a shivering Altair close to him before resting his chin on his head and whispering;

"I told you I got you..."

* * *

**AN: God! I had too many typos in here! LOL. At least it's fixed now.**

**Also, I'm new to this Assassin's Creed fandom. Like, three weeks old new. I've played the first, third and fourth game but if I missed an important thing/wrote something that doesn't make sense, please tell me and give me some info so I can fix it! I'm a baby Assassin, I still have a lot to learn, haha!**


End file.
